christmas is just around the corner!

i've done a little bit of decorating while the mister was away so i thought i'd share with you! i don't go ALL OUT for christmas decorating like my mama, but i think it is a requirement to have stockings and a lit tree. this year i've actually put way more effort into my gift wrapping skills. doesn't look like much under the tree, but i've already expertly and uniquely wrapped 25 gifts! i know people will just rip my packages to shreds only to turn around and throw their remnants in the trash, but there's something so beautiful and thoughtful about a wrapped present that took some effort.


the tree is really just a hodge-podge of ornaments i've collected over the years, but i thought it turned out pretty sweet.


i adore nativity scenes and i'm going to start collecting them i think. here's one of three i currently own.


wouldn't be a holiday at our house without some antlers! we thought this was the perfect place for theron's new buck directly skinned and bleached from the deer head boil we had last weekend.


our little wreath :) i'm really into all things holly this season. i think it goes perfectly with the colorado/log cabin/rustic/nordic theme we have going on for the holidays. simple, but so pretty!

hope all is swell this holiday season for you and your family!

wedding update

guess what? guess what? i found THE dress. it is enchanting, magical, fairy-tale-like and i feel fabulous in it. want to know the funny part, it was the very first dress i tried on at the very first place we looked! i'll admit it, i've really been getting into the bride reality shows (never interested me before, but i guess i can identify now - except for that awful "bridal plasty" one on E!) anyway, i always thought the dress selection would be this never-ending process, much like searching for a needle in a haystack...and what do you know, mine was the first one!

i made myself try on 10 other dresses for good measure, but none had the "wow factor" of the first dress or the crowd reaction. crowd reaction you say? yes, if you have yet to go through this process, they make you parade around on a stage in front of all the other brides, customers, and retail assistants (which on this particular day at lasting bridal couture in dallas, there seemed to be about 30 other people in the store!) i was horrified by this, but after a few walks on the runway, i guess you just get used to it. anyway, when i came out in that first dress, there was an audible gasp from the audience and they all chanted in unison "YOU MUST SAY YES TO THE DRESS!"

not only did we say yes to that dress, but we also found the flower girl's and bridesmaid's dresses too. what can i say, i'm notoriously decisive and i know what i want.

i would post pics of everything on here, but i know theron sometimes sneaks a peak on this sight and i desperately want that "i can't believe how beautiful you look" moment when those double doors burst wide open. suffice it to say, my mission was to find something along the lines of the jenna bush "oscar de la renta" crawford, texas ensemble and i found something that is even more desirable! can't wait to see what you all think...

in other news, after being sized (which requires the ring to go all the way to the nyc tiffany's and back) my ring is finally back on my finger again. it was especially sparkly today so i had to take a picture:



that's all the news in brideland, will keep you posted on further details!

wow, do i have a lot to catch up on!

seeing as though mr. pfeifer is deer hunting with the buddies this weekend, i FINALLY have time to catch up on blogging. i have missed it so and missed reading the tales of your lives as well! there is something so wonderful about having all of these memories neatly tucked away and categorized to conjure up years down the road. i hate that i haven't been more verbal or descriptive about the past few months because they have been some of the best/most influential times of my life. i supposed i should start by reviewing our thanksgiving holidays, which were amazing.

bad part about teaching in my school district: you may end up easily putting in 12 hour days (often). good part about working in my school district: that's right, an ENTIRE week off for thanksgiving! yippee!

theron and i definitely took advantage of our mutual time off together and we almost traveled the entire state of texas in just one week. we began by staying two days in the galveston area so that theron could take his 1600 ton masters series test. i am tremendously proud of him because this is an insanely hard test, but he PASSED and now he can captain a large vessel and is getting a sweet little pay raise! woohoo! here i am watching him study in the hotel room the night before the test. i think he looks so handsome when he has that intense, determined look. and don't you just love the new stetson "gus mcrae" edition hat i just bought him?



i had never been to galveston and i must admit i had this terrible perception about the place from things i had heard, but i loved it! i thought it was such a charming little town reminiscent of new orleans and the food at guido's was fantastic. if we ever have to move there someday (which is a possibility if we stay in the maritime business) i think i shall open a little store on the strand and theron can run the old quarter.

after galveston, i made theron stop AGAIN in luling, texas at my fave truck stop in the world - BUCEE'S!!!!! if you have not experienced the greatness of bucee's, you must...they have EVERYTHING!



after galveston, we spent one night back home in san antone and then it was off again up 281 to spend a few days at the lake. we even got some fishing in and took a family portrait! not to mention, we stuffed our faces with everything from fried turkey and tamales to stuffing and pecan pie...







after the lake, we went to dallas to celebrate meme & daddo's 50th wedding anniversary and i even got to fulfill a childhood dream and visit the american girl store...ahhh so happy :) was anybody else out there OBSESSED with these dolls like i was?



after hanging out with the robertson clan in dallas, it was time to hit the road back to our homeland. i must say, i always feel a sigh of relief when we start to hit the hill country. never thought i'd say this, but it just feels like home : )

...and this is why i do what i do.

if you've been reading this blog or you happen to be one of the people who so graciously allows me to vent to you, you know that my idealist notions of what i thought education would be have proven to be incorrect. i work sun up to sun down in a very stressful environment and i constantly question whether or not i'm irrevocably screwing my students up and preparing them for epic failure. all the while, i have experienced the phenomenon of being not only a teacher, but a parent and social worker to kids who say things like, "ms. sowder, you're having a bad hair today, aren't you? your hair looks really messy today" - "wow, you're going to be 25 next week, you're soooooo old!" - and my personal favorite, "ms. sowder, it looks like you're going to have a baby."

i cry. a lot. sometimes, i get chewed out by parents. sometimes, i get lost in all the standardized testing these kids are required to do. still not completely sure how to work the dang copier; thinking about pulling an office space "michael bolton" move and beating the snot out of it.

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID...my birthday was this past week and a funny thing happened. i received 18 handprinted little cards, an array of "treasures" (junk that is suspiciously missing from around the house), and hugs all day long. "WE LOVE YOU MS. SOWDER!!!" they screamed, as they huddled around me and almost knocked me over like a bulldozing offensive lineman.

so you know what, my kids can't write perfectly, they're still getting the hang of subtraction, whoever teaches them next year will probably not look favorably upon me, but those kids know they're loved and they know that someone believes in them. i am trying to continue my journey to live one of my fave quotes by ms. maya angelou. "people will forget what you said. people will forget what you did. but people will never forget how you made them feel." gotta keep going...thanks for all of the encouragement!

venue is booked!

yes sir, we have found THE PLACE to host our summer nuptials. i am happy to announce that we will be getting married at the trois estate in fredericksburg, texas. i am over-the-moon happy about this place and it is truly like a dream. though i didn't have a wedding planned from the time i was a little girl, i did always know that i wanted to get married in the hill country and i wanted it to have a spanish influence. wouldn't you know that this enchanting village was modeled after my favorite mexican city - san miguel de allende?!? es perfecto :)

geeze louise, carrie underwood...

you sure know how to cause a tear to roll down my eye...this NEW VIDEO is so appropriate :)

the proposal

S&T get engaged: part II

once again, this little blog has served as somewhat of a consistent documentation piece for me for the last four years, so I figured it only natural to include one of the most momentous pieces of my life. it's so interesting, puzzling, (albeit embarrassing) to witness the metamorphoses that has taken place on these pages. if you had told me just one year ago that i would be writing about my own impending marriage, i would've fallen right out of my chair! dr. seuss was right, "oh the places you'll go"

okay. cue to cut out the self contemplation. i'll get to the good stuff!

the first thing everyone has asked me, is "did you have any idea that he was going to propose?" the answer is NOOOO WAY! i was absolutely, truly SHOCKED. there have been very few times in my life where i have been utterly surprised (my analytical side usually does the foreshadowing) but in this case, theron pfeifer pulled it off.

we were on our way to dallas for the cotton bowl game (baylor vs. tech) and theron suggested that on our way to dallas we have dinner at the stagecoach inn in salado. (now i can recollect wanting to change into a t-shirt and shorts thinking we were just on a road trip, but theron saying, "well you might want to keep your dress on!") should've tipped me off, but i just thought he wanted to have a really nice dinner (he's into spontaneous romanticism - much more than even me if you can believe it.)

we drove to salado and had a table waiting for us with our sweet-as-could-be waitress melody. if you haven't been to this restaurant, you must! the food is excellent and the staff recites the menu from memory...not to mention the place has been running since 1860 and it is the definition of southern, homespun charm.

after a nice dinner, we came out on the two story, sweeping porch (SO TARA-LIKE) and theron declared, "let's go sit on that porch and watch the sun go down."

"well i really want to get on the road, it's getting really late and we still have to get to dallas tonight."

"come on, babe, i really want to go sit on those rocking chairs."

"THEROOOON, i'm cold and i don't really want to just sit on the porch and soak it all in. LET'S GO!"

this went on for a few minutes (little did i know the man was trying to ask me to marry him) and finally he just lays it all out on the line.

"shannan. i have to ask you something. (GETS DOWN ON ONE KNEE) i've loved you from the moment i saw you and i want to ask you to be my wife and make me the happiest man in the world. i want to take care of you and i want to build a life with you...and a whole lot of other stuff that i'll keep to myself ;) you get the point.

i screamed yes without a moment's hesitation and then i ripped open that infamous tiffany's box (that i secretly prayed for years i'd always see when this occasion presented itself, but never really allowed myself to believe.) we then walked through the streets of salado as if we were walking on clouds and called all of our friends and family. of course everyone knew except for me and he had been scheming with my father for weeks. he told me later that night that my dad had called him earlier that day to ask if he was going to "pull the trigger." HOW LOVELY.

we then went on to dallas where we celebrated the engagement all weekend long and had a blast stuffing our faces at the state fair, galavanting around downtown ft. worth, and spending time with our loved ones. it will always be a weekend that i will treasure and remember forever. now the wedding planning shall commence! can't wait 'till i get to be mrs. pfeifer!!!!!!!!!!!


riding the largest amusement ride in the western hemisphere....that great big 'ol ferris wheel at the state fair! (and very happy to be newly engaged.)


celebratory dinner at the reata with these tamales that i would die for.


on our way back to SA, we stopped in salado to recreate the engagement. ha yes, we're that cool. here's the handsome man at the scene of the crime.


i'll love this porch always...


yep, we're gettin' married!

he liked it, so he put a ring on it!

S & T get engaged: part I

that's right folks. shannan d'aun sowder is getting hitched! and if i wasn't looking down right now at my sparkling ring finger as i type, i wouldn't believe it myself! we know, we know, WE KNOW you all think we're certifiably insane and we realize we have had a whirlwind courtship...but i guess the cliches are true, WHEN YOU KNOW...YOU KNOW.

i just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you well-wishers for your warm congratulations and best wishes. it has meant so much to both of us to receive the outpouring of support from friends and family. we are so lucky to have so many people behind us and neither of us take it for granted at all! to keep all of you posted on wedding details, i will use this blog to chronicle my adventures in brideland. (which for the record, i'm having a tough time navigating seeing as though i seem to be the only girl who didn't have all the details ironed out at age 6.) but know this, it's going to be a VERY exciting, VERY texified evening in the hill country complete with TONS of eating and dancing!

a lot of people have asked me how we met, so i guess i should start with the beginning...

once upon a time, a handsome prince met a lovely young maiden in a far away place known as HELOTES, TEXAS. on that steamy, hot-as-the-hinges- of-hell night, they were both serendipitously at FLOORE'S COUNTRY STORE to see their beloved robert earl keen. the young prince was only there to "experience the music" and cared nothing for the fair ladies vying for his attention, while the princess had grown incredibly disenchanted with love herself and was there as a true aficionada of the music as well.

the princess had grown very weary of being set up on horrible bad dates with co-worker jamie's cousin, mom's long-lost room mate's son, and someone from the rodeo committee. she detested the idea of meeting anyone on the bloody internet or premeditating the "right place at the right time" scenario. so, being a scribe, she took to her blog and banished dating FOREVER! (or at least until the hero on the white horse came riding up on his trusty steed...)

the princess didn't know when or where she would find her knight in shining armor, but she prayed that it would be downright obvious and she would be undoubtedly, undeniably, knock-me-over-with-a-feather convinced that he was the one from the moment she saw him.

ahem, back to the night at floore's, the young princess was coming down a flight of steps when she saw a mysterious, bearded cowboy confidently strolling around waiting for the concert to start. the moment she saw him, she was entranced and deeply magnetized toward this man. voices kept playing in her head telling her she must find out who this mystical creature was, but lord have mercy...shannan sowder would NEVER hit on a man! why, heavens, it's in the rule book...let a man pursue you, never make the first move if you are truly a genteel lady! the inner battle went on the rest of the night, when finally the voice would not go away: "IF YOU DON'T TALK TO THIS MAN, YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!" Okay, okay she finally relented.

before she knew it, the irresistibly charming stranger was by her side and she casually turned around and asked him something really cutting edge and witty..."so, you a big fan of robert earl keen?" he gladly joined in on the banter, but quickly added, "umm...is your boyfriend going to mind that i'm talking to you?" forgot to mention, but the young lady had dragged her 6'4'' grid-iron, football player brother along to the concert. once that relationship status was cleared up, well, the rest is history as they say.

the two young whipper snappers went on a date the very next day (swing dancing to be exact!) and spent the whole summer in a haze of euphoric bliss traveling all over the great state of texas and fallin' in love. for some reason, the young prince decided he absolutely had to marry this stubborn, crazy, peculiar girl and after just 116 days they decided to get engaged!

believe me when i say the princess had to kiss a lot of frogs to find this prince, but it was well worth the wait.



TO BE CONTINUED...

speaking of flowers...

my AWESOME boyfriend just sent me a bouquet of tiger lillies (which happened to be one of my nicknames as a kid.) hate to brag, but he's really endearingly perfect. (and oh so handsome to boot!)

thank ya miranda lambert...

i can always count on you to speak straight to my heart.



carrying the weight on the end of a limb
you're just waitin' for somebody to pick you up again
shaded by a tree, can't live up to a rose
all you ever wanted was a sunny place to grow

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

even through the snow, a flower can bloom
you just need a little push, spring is comin' soon
umbrella in the rain, let it roll off of your back
weather what you can, realize what you have

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and the let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

put a little light in the darkest places
put a little smile on the saddest faces

pretty little thing, sometimes you gotta look up
and let the world see all the beauty that you're made of
cause the way you hang your head, nobody can tell
you're my virginia bluebell
my virginia bluebell

here lately...

well guys, if your assumption was that i've been a little busy, you would be CORRECT! i truly hate letting this blog collect dust; more for my sake, than yours. as i've said a million times, blogging is a way for me to keep track of my life and for some reason, it's oddly soothing. believe me, i don't do it because i think you're enthralled with my life. ha.

for those of you who are close to me, you know that this whole teaching gig has basically consumed my life. it seems as though there is a never ending stream of things to grade, mountains of paperwork, individualized plans to create, meetings to attend, and constant pressure from parents. i put a lot of added pressure on myself as well because i keep telling myself that i am responsible for these kids cognitive development, getting them to read, building their educational foundation...imagine that in a setting with english AND spanish speakers in a classroom without walls or doors and kids who are absolutely out of control. i'd be lying if i said that i wasn't really struggling right now with whether public education was the right career path for me.

i am usually always OVERLY optimistic and have ALWAYS seen the bright side of things, but here recently, this has not been the case. i've been praying a lot that God would change my heart toward these obstacles that i face and that i would just be cognizant of the fact that "i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." this is one of those times in my life where God is just going to have to work through me and I will have to place reliance on his plan and not my own abilities.

in other news, i grrrrrrrreatly miss my manfriend. he is off sailing the seas and workin' hard for the money, but his presence is sorely missed back here on the home front. theron's long absences have made me realize how tough it must be for military wives who have to cope with deployment. though being in a relationship with an oil company man is not for the faint at heart, this one is worth it!



to all of my friends who may stumble across this, i love you dearly and i think of you often! GOD BLESS!

all work, and no play...

MAKES SHANNAN A VERY DULL GIRL. sorry i haven't been blogging, i've been working my tail off for the last three weeks getting ready for the school year. today was the first day of school and I. AM. BEAT.

for those of you who thought teaching was glorified babysitting (as i thought back in the day), you are sadly mistaken. I HAVE NEVER WORKED SO HARD IN MY LIFE. the rigor and advancement that has happened in education over the last 10 years is extraordinary...especially in a hyper-demanding school district like mine (they'd like to have claim over your first child)...the accountability standards are HUGE (which is a good thing), but geeze, i'm overwhelmed. sure, you might be teaching a lower grade (piece of cake right?) but i cannot even begin to describe the amount of time, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into this job. i'm at the school by 7 and have just finished working on things for tomorrow and as you can see it's almost midnight. all day long, i am in charge of managing 19 precocious, wily, exploratory second graders and i just pray we can make it thought the year without anyone going missing (quite a darn feat, i promise you.) i'm so sorry to vent, but my feet have blisters all over them and my brain is absolutely fried from having to teach in spanish all day. i share these lamentations with you only because i think teachers deserve a whole lot more respect and appreciation, more so than i ever gave my mother or my own teachers.

i may not have perfect spanish and i'm certainly lacking in teaching content mastery, but my heart belongs to kids and at the end of the day, if a child has felt loved and encouraged that is the best that i can do.

for all you teachers out there, hope you're having a great first week of school! i'll also include a few pics from last week working in the classroom...


our "literacy" area


only shot with me in it, sorry you caught the behind. and oh yeah, fiji, you're welcome for the shameless plug.

shan got a new truck!

for those of you who don't know, my poor little outlander was stolen about 2 weeks ago and while being the victim of auto theft is not fun, getting new wheels is not bad! God definitely has a sense of humor. i've been saying i wanted a new car for quite sometime, just didn't know it was going to take stealing mine to get one. i'd like to to thank the great people at gene messer ford in lubbock for cutting us a great deal and driving all the way to san antonio to make a special delivery! my first car buying experience has been so pleasant! i'm very happy and now i have finally fulfilled the prophesy of this song. i highly recommend the new ford 1-50s, they're pretty fab!

¡el sabor latino regresa!

sí, es la verdad. mi modo de vida latina está vuelta...y estoy muy, muy emocionada con este desarollo! voy a enseñar una segunda lengua de doble grado (70 por ciento español y 30 por ciento ingles.) estoy nerviosa por este desafío, pero, como ustedes saben, me gusta hacer cosas que me asustan. no puedo esperar para conocer a mis 19 niños...y viva a mi lado latino!

booking gigs for august!

so friends, if you've got any connections in the music biz or you know of any cool venues to play in the austin/sa/hill country area...hit me up! we're currently booking shows for theron pfeifer and the cicadas and we can use any leads. looks like shows are possible at quarry hofbrau and beergarden, la hacienda, tavern in the gruene thus far...

will keep you posted on schedules and the CD release...maybe, just maybe, you can even come join us at a show!

*awesome new band alert

this band is out of texas and they're called FROM WHERE THEY RUN. check out their song "sleep when i'm dead." they remind me a little bit of old crow medicine show. fantastic instrumentation, these guys seem really cool! *thank you to blake closner for telling us about them!

yay sunny!

texas chick, sunny sweeney, has a new single on radio and it's A-MAZING! can't stop listenin'...GIVE IT A LISTEN. "FROM A TABLE AWAY."

roses...

just because. dang, theron pfeifer, you are good.



sorry, i do profusely apologize...like i said, usually these things make me roll my eyes and say, "oh please...girlfriend, get over yourself." all these professions of love and everything coming up roses...YAK! but me, oh my...i'm the worst hypocrite EVER!!! i LOOOOOOVE love...and i love being insanely sentimental and doting on my manfriend - i prefer this over the colloquial boyfriend - because after all, he is a man. a damn good man...and i'm so lucky...on that note i'll leave you with a little vid and you have my full permission to relentlessly make fun of me.

meet the pfeifers

yep. the parents are meeting each other tomorrow night. wth? say a prayer for us. just so you know, i wouldn't be doing this under ANY other circumstance or for ANY other person... it must be love.

best part...my handsome man already went back to work in the oil patch, so i get the pleasure of entertaining both sets of parentals flying solo. SWEET!

tejas rodeo fever strikes again!

holy moses it was hot out there this past saturday night..."hot as a billy goat in a pepper patch" as my grandmother would say. even my sweat was sweating. but ya know what, it was all worth it!

the mutton busters were cute as ever, the sweet tea was at its finest, the bulls were broncin' like crazy, and all my rowdy friends were there. TEXAS, I WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT YOU.


how 'bout them cowgirls...


i love a good paint horse!


why hello my friend...


that's all folks!

i just wanna dance with you...

i got the feeling that you have a heart like mine. so let it show, let it shine. if we have a chance to make one heart of two, i just want to dance with you. i wanna dance with you. twirl you all around the floor. that's what they invented dancing for...i just wanna dance with you.

good times @ the SAN ANTONIO RODEO kickoff party!

san antonio, you're so good to me...

seriously, i am just so full of gratitude right now. i have the best friends in the world who are just so much fun...i mean, i wish you could know my friends, they're just downright AMAZING! i got hired with the best school district in town and i can't wait to shape the lives of my little bilingual babes. i have the best church, which feels like a second home to me. i have this man in my life who is such a rare breed and i have no idea what i did to capture his attention?! i have a family who is so unbelievably supportive and they have so much faith in me. and i get to live this life in such an EXTRAORDINARY city that i happen to love with all of my heart! WOW!

i want to apologize for those of you reading this post, thinking, "whoa, she is just way too ecstatic, she must be trying really hard to compensate for something." i'll admit i've been guilty of having that attitude towards others myself, but a positive, optimistic outlook is so much better. the other thing to note is that nobody's life is perfect and there is a natural ebb and flow to the way life works. if you go back and read this blog nine months ago or even three months ago, you can infer that i was in a very rough place in my life both personally and professionally...and believe me, that's the understatement of the century...but i always possessed the core belief that that was temporary and that God would bring me through it...and he did, with better results than i could have ever imagined. what i'm getting at is you have to acknowledge Him in both the good and the bad and give thanks when things are good. and right now, THINGS ARE GOOD!!

okay i'll get off that train, i initially started this post to tell you about why i love SA so much and how i had the best day yesterday exploring the city...

the day started with eating hamburgers at chester's, which claims to have the best burgers in town and they aren't lying! then my studly outdoorsman took me to the bexar county gun club!



we got to witness the marion 4-H club's annual fundraiser - "redneck triathlon" where a three-person team competes in skeet, washers, and bowling. after that, we took a nice hill country drive in his big chevy truck rocking out to hayes carll, roy orbison, and CCR. then he took me to check out an old deserted dancehall (cibolo creek country club) where we walked around and talked about the possibility of buying it, fixing it up and running the place ourselves...that would be AWESOME!



while driving along the backroads, i spotted a ginormous fireworks stand and talked my man into stopping for some firecrackers! thank you, theron, for indulging me in my pyro childhood nostalgia...



after that little excursion, we went and toured the new jw marriott hill country resort (which is GORGEOUS and the site of the new PGA tour) and we sat out on the golf course and drank blackberry mojitos (ha well for me)...shiner for the gentleman. if you haven't been yet, i HIGHLY recommend it...it's texas luxury at its finest! i'm pretty proud of myself for coordinating an outfit that can transition from the gun club to a five star hotel!



as if all of that weren't enough, we still went out and watched a full rodeo out at tejas and THEN met friends at copa wine bar at midnight! ah it makes me exhausted just thinking about it, but it was WONDERFUL. i love living life and really experiencing all that it has to offer. very thankful for EVERYTHING!

it's summertime...

and the livin's easy.

i apologize that i've been blog absent, but all for a very good reason of course. very fortuitously and EXTREMELY unplanned, a man came into my life who likes to do ALLLLL the same things as me, can play ANY instrument you throw at him, possesses a razor sharp intellect, radiates goodness and kindness, has a heart the size of TEXAS, credits his name to a literary character in an old western novel, LOVES his family, LOVES to dance, makes me laugh hysterically, and the best part - he just so happens to think i'm the bee's knees and treats me better than i ever thought possible for a man. oh yeah, he's easy on the eyes too...almost a dead-ringer for ryan gosling/noah from the notebook...yeah, i'm a lucky girl, i know.

the best day EVVVVEEEEEER...

literally. yesterday will probably go down in my memory as one of the best of my life. ahhhh it was incredible! probably not everyone's idea of paradise, but if you love music (especially of the texas variety) like i do, then i think you would understand.

first of all, i spent the entire day with the brilliantly talented theron pfeifer who is recording his debut album (and it's gonna blow you away!!!!) theron's recording his album at the legendary cheatham street warehouse in san marcos and he so graciously let me hang out at the studio to give my expert opinion. (haha not needed.) for those of you that don't know, san marcos/new braunfels is really the mecca of the texas music scene and there is a fantastic little community of singer/songwriters there. after we spent allll day in the studio, theron took me over to cheatham where you can get your beer in a mason jar and he introduced me to all of the musicians who call the place home. to my surprise, kent finlay - owner of cheatham/HUGE name in tx music/helped george strait get started/incredible songwriter whose credits include RR's "they call it the hill county" - was in the building and we had the best conversation with him! so there we are, talking to KENT FINLAY about the night that ace in the hole band played their very first show. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

theron and i then met up with chuck & daphney and went to TWO TON TUESDAY at GRUENE HALL. if you've never seen two tons of steel, you MUST! they're this great rockabilly/country/swing band out of SA and they play the BEST dance music. theron and i took a swing dance lesson on monday so we're trying to practice...continual room for improvement of course, but we're havin' a blast!

ahhhhh i LOVE hill country summers, good music, and even better company!!!!!


woodshed studios. such a cool place. it's insane what all goes into recording an album...such an intricate process.


theron's sound engineer, russ, showed us this old beat up thing which he casually threw in, "oh yeah, this was george strait's first tour bus..." as if that were no big deal. these boys don't know about my GS appreciation yet...


living piece of history right there...


pickin'.


the one. the only. CHEATHAM STREET WAREHOUSE.